VICTORIA, B.C. – As the winter months continue to drop the temperature the University of Victoria Vikes women's field hockey team are wasting no time to tune up their skills and as such have move indoors to stay on track. The Vikes women will be hosting the annual UVic Indoor Tournament at the Ian Stewart Complex from Jan. 9-11.
 
The eight-team indoor tournament is the only one of it's kind in Victoria as the adapted, indoor version of the game is significantly less popular in Western Canada. With thinner sticks, five players per team, side boards to keep the ball in play and no hitting, this version of hockey is high scoring, fast paced and more than just entertaining. A strong focus on technical speed and skill puts good teams ahead of others and while the indoor sport is a growing game in North America, the Vikes have always integrated it into their training.
 
The Vikes will be entering two teams into the tournament, denoted Vikes Blue and Vikes White, while their local rivals the Island Wildcats will also have two teams, black and white. Mainland teams traveling to compete include recent CIS champions, the UBC Thunderbirds, as well Vancouver premier league members, the Jokers. A local select team, the Islanders, will round out the competition as well as a Shawnigan team, comprised of several of the recent AAA provincial champions.
 
The Vikes will be forced to compete without defenders Kathleen Leahy and Rosie Beale, both training in Vancouver for their upcoming New Zealand tour with Team Canada. UVic will however boast two outstanding goalkeepers in Sheriden Goodmanson and Larissa Piva, as well as defenders Andrea Jones, Alanna Macdonald and Kristina and Annie Walters-Shumka. Amanda Kurianowicz will likely contend as a tournament top goal scorer and rookies Lindsay Cole, Jenna Dhillon and Stefanie Langkammer will all add an exciting flavour to this year's mix.
 
The indoor game is often a more entertaining version for spectators as there are more goals, it is faster and it is held inside. Admission is free, though spectator room is limited.

A combination of up-and-coming youth as well as several ex-internationals and elite players will compete this weekend for the annual title.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
 

Friday, January 9th, 2015
TIME	POOL	GAME	TEAM		TEAM
7:00 pm	A	1	Wildcats Black	vs	UVic Blue
8:00 pm	B	2	Uvic White	vs	Wildcats White
Saturday, January 10th, 2015
9:00 am	A	3	Wildcats Black	vs	Islanders
10:00 am	B	4	UVic White	vs	Shawnigan
11:00 am	A	5	Islanders	vs	Jokers
12:00 pm	B	6	Shawnigan	vs	UBC
1:00 pm	A	7	Jokers	vs	UVic Blue
2:00 pm	B	8	UBC	vs	Wildcats White
3:00 pm	A	9	Islanders	vs	UVic Blue
4:00 pm	B	10	Shawnigan	vs	Wildcats White
5:00 pm	A	11	Wildcats Black	vs	Jokers
6:00 pm	B	12	UVic White	vs	UBC
Sunday, January 11th, 2015
8:00 am	Semifinal 1	13	1st Pool A	vs	2nd Pool B
9:00 am	Semifinal 2	14	1st Pool B	vs	2nd Pool A
10:00 am	7th/8th	15	4th Pool A	vs	4th Pool B
11:00 am	5th/6th	16	3rd Pool A	vs	3rd Pool B
12:00 pm	3rd/4th	17	Loser Game 13	vs	Loser Game 14
1:00 pm	FINAL	18	Winner Game 13	vs	Winner Game 14
1:45 pm	Awards Presentations